Decreasing Costs

[TOR]

I mix my feed. I buy whole kernal corn, grind. Mix 2 parts corn to 1 part roasted soybeans. Gives if I remember about 21 to 22 percent protien. I take 1 part of that mix and mix equal part chicken feed. As long grain prices down saves about 8 cents pound, Something in there.
My chickens also freerange everymorning till dark.
Back when grain prices were up I grew half acre field corn hand picked, built mini corn storage. Shelled and ground as used. That corn lasted about 2 years. Back chicken feed was 19.99 bag. Corn was up to 7 dollars.
I also grow couple acres sweet corn for roadside market and yes chickens get lots scraps and garden scraps in summer.
Grain market IMO with political climate I think will stay flat and feed should stay down in price.
I just got rid of 2 roosters, bit rooster heavy. I have 1 rooster 17 hens.
I use 5 gallon pales with ports for feed, This has cut down on loss, but still lose some feed not near as bad as some of the other feeders I have used. Down side is rooster cannot use it, he gets scraps and spillage . really cold days throw bit feed on ground make sure rooster gets enough feed for the 20 below nights.
I dont feed scratch, but I do spoil the chickens abit, and buy black fly larva. Give them few handfull every now and then.

 

[Red-Stars-in-RI]

Some great suggestions in this thread, for sure. I'll second (or third) the food scraps suggestion. At a minimum, ALL your food scraps should be going to the flock. They're great recyclers of nutrients and love the variety.

But you can take that further. If you have close neighbors, maybe they can keep some scraps for you. A small compost pile in the run that's a mix of food scraps, fall leaves, the like will help reduce the chickens intake of commercial feed and give them hours of enrichment turning the compost and looking for little tidbits to eat.

 

[lovlivn]

Hello!
I wanted to ask all of the seasoned chicken keepers out there if they had any suggestions on lowering costs? I don't necessarily want to make money, but I would like to keep the amount of money I'm spending per dozen eggs that my chickens produce less than what I would spend for a dozen at the grocery store, if possible. I'm not counting costs of coop and run build. Those were my own personal hobby projects, haha.

Currently, I have 7 pullets (2 buff orpington, schijndelaar, easter egger, welsummer, deathlayer, and speckled sussex). Only my speckled sussex has not begun laying. I also have a buff orpington rooster. I'm averaging about 3 eggs a day right now.

They're in a 4x8 coop with a 140 square foot run. They get free range time in the late afternoon when I'm home to supervise, but with it being winter there's not much for them to eat in the fields. They're on Hearty Hen 18% with free choice oyster shells and I give them some scratch in the mornings

Any help would be appreciated!.

My sussex chickens are really gentle and nice to have around compared to the other breads. Their eggs are smaller (and prettier) and they WILL start laying consistent. Hang in there.

 

[OldGreg]

I know this is a stale thread, and I'm far from a seasoned pro, so I won't offer any advice. But I've used this (walkthefence.com) to track feed consumption. Supposedly it gives an idea of feed consumption/bird based on breed and profitability per bird.

Filling out the survey in the beginning is a little tedious, but it's a neat toy to play around with.

 

[DobieLover]

I know this is a stale thread, and I'm far from a seasoned pro, so I won't offer any advice. But I've used this (walkthefence.com) to track feed consumption. Supposedly it gives an idea of feed consumption/bird based on breed and profitability per bird.

Filling out the survey in the beginning is a little tedious, but it's a neat toy to play around with.

I will preface this by stating, I did not open the link.

To claim it will give an idea of feed consumption/bird would only work in a fully enclosed (birds have no access to the ground for foraging) single breed keeping arrangement. I imagine food consumption would also depend on the amount of space they have. Overcrowding leads to stress and that could cause an increase in consumption.

Many people free range or permit their birds access to large grassy spaces full of foraging opportunities and/or run very mixed breed flocks.

 

[OldGreg]

I will preface this by stating, I did not open the link.

To claim it will give an idea of feed consumption/bird would only work in a fully enclosed (birds have no access to the ground to foraging) single breed keeping arrangement. I imagine food consumption would also depend on the amount of space they have. Overcrowding leads to stress and that could cause an increase in consumption.

Many people free range or permit their birds access to large grassy spaces full of foraging opportunities and/or run very mixed breed flocks.

I tried to account for that- it's obviously an imperfect model, but it does ask for density, some feed specifics, run size and free range area/time, age, etc.

The biggest weakness is mixed-breeds. For a mixed breed, it's basically just pulling the most generic average.

However, it SHOULD update as real info is added. For example, it has a spot to update with actual feed expenses as they occur. However, I haven't been playing with it long enough to speak to this with any confidence whatsoever lol

 

[OldGreg]

I tried to account for that- it's obviously an imperfect model, but it does ask for density, some feed specifics, run size and free range area/time, age, etc.

The biggest weakness is mixed-breeds. For a mixed breed, it's basically just pulling the most generic average.

However, it SHOULD update as real info is added. For example, it has a spot to update with actual feed expenses as they occur. However, I haven't been playing with it long enough to speak to this with any confidence whatsoever lol

I should add, the thousands of people on this forum that have been raising chickens for years are going to be far superior at predicting their costs than any software IMHO. But if you decide to look at it, I'd love to know your thoughts.